Unmasked
by carolina-28
Summary: If shameless fluff followed the season 2 finale. Slash: Merlin/Arthur


_He couldn't breathe._

_Staring heavenward, where Kilgharrah had been and gone.  
_

Merlin turned, distracted from jumbled feelings, to face the man whose gasps for air and confused gaze brought his own wrought state under control as nothing else could. He gazed through a wet veil at the man at his feet and searched for the words which would explain the inexplicable.

"What happened?" Arthur wondered in a dazed fashion.

He had to answer somehow. "You dealt him a mortal blow," Merlin managed, attempting a smile whilst his insides churned and an immense pressure built behind his eyes. It lessened slightly as he observed the Prince's reaction and a look of awe lit up Arthur's face.

"He's gone?" the Prince asked wonderingly, wide-eyed and in apparent disbelief.

"Yeah," Merlin assured but his face felt tight with the strain of smiling. Yes, Kilgharrah was gone, but he couldn't tell the Prince that it had been his lowly servant who'd succeeded where he'd failed-_oh and had used magic too by the way_.

Arthur seemed to be in shock.

"You did it," Merlin urged in relief, then heard Arthur attempt a laugh in response which sounded far more like he was gasping for air. The laughter transformed into high-pitched cries of delight, which Merlin would tease him about later but could fully understand now. He couldn't prevent the grin, which split his face and chuckled quietly as he watched the other man's relieved euphoria at the news.

"You did it," he breathed out again, still smiling. He couldn't have cared less that _yet again _the prat was getting all the credit-as long as Camelot and those he loved were safe. It was his destiny to guide Arthur to _his destiny_. Somehow, their lives were intertwined-whatever the great dragon had done, he hadn't lied about that-Merlin felt it in his bones whenever they managed to overcome whatever obstacle lay in their path, be it a troll, an enchanted Princess or even a vengeful Dragon.

Arthur lay still, head thrown back, face bruised, and eventually his laughter trailed into silence.

"Don't just stand there you dolt, give me a hand up," he grumbled, but his expression was softer than Merlin had ever seen it. "Thank you," Arthur murmured. He looked up at Merlin and held out a hand. "You are either completely insane for coming along or one of the bravest people I know."

"You're welcome," Merlin muttered. He was starting to feel prickles of discomfort and uncertainty as the Prince continued to stare at him. Arthur broke the awkwardness by grasping his hand and produced loud hacking coughs as he got to his feet.

"Come we'll check my men and get help," Arthur declared. "We can inform my father that we have defeated the great dragon and that Camelot is safe."

Merlin smiled fondly at the way the Prince spoke in familiar autocratic tones of the dragon's defeat but couldn't prevent the burst of pain he felt at the mention of father. Arthur looked so proud and excited about breaking the news but all Merlin could see was Balinor-his father's face as he lay dying in his arms. A strong hand clapped down on his shoulder and Merlin glanced up to see Arthur watching him with concern.

"You okay?" he asked capturing the point of Merlin's chin and tilting it upward.

At Merlin slow nod, he frowned and moved his hand to ruffle gently his mop of tangled curls.

"You're not but we'll talk later," Arthur murmured. "First we need to check for casualties and get help for the wounded."

Merlin decided there and then to be missing whenever that potentially awkward chat came about and nodded once more, crossing his fingers behind his back in a fit of childish fancy. Arthur bit his lip for a moment, jerked his head briskly toward the scattered bodies and marched off to judge the damage. Merlin trailed off after him and scurried about following instruction. Before long, there was a small group of Knights assisting to tend the injured. There were a few fatalities and Merlin swallowed as he watched Arthur sweep a hand over lids and bark out orders for men to guard the bodies whilst he and Merlin sought aid at Camelot.

The return journey seemed short, despite being made by foot, and before long they could see the Castle.

Two figures ran from the shadows of the courtyard toward them and Merlin grinned as Gaius captured him in a hug. Fatherly hands patted him to reassure that he was in one piece and anxious eyes swept over him as the older man muttered about worrisome but exceptional young men. Merlin just smiled and fell back into another hug. He observed Uther welcoming his son over Gaius's shoulder.

Suddenly exhausted, more so than ever before, Merlin felt his legs give and he smiled weakly as Gaius muttered, "Let's get you into a warm bath and then it's an early night. I'm sure the Prince won't require your services tonight."

_A week later…  
_

Sometimes Merlin wondered if he would have been happier remaining in Ealdor. Stuffing _that_ hat on his head he decided that he could live a long time without seeing it again and maybe he should have let the dragon have his way if it would have meant seeing it set alight.

Images of the dead flickered through his head and with a heartfelt sigh; he gingerly sat it atop his head and turned to view his reflection preparing himself for the expected. Would anyone notice if he altered it, just plucked a couple of those red, far too long feathers.

"Shouldn't you be assisting Arthur to prepare for the celebratory feast?" Gaius asked as he entered their shared chambers. Only the briefest smirk revealed his acknowledgment of the fluffy, feathery piece of frippery on his head.

"Yes," Merlin muttered. "I can't believe he's making me wear this again, stupid prat."

The latter he uttered under his breath but it seemed like the physician had heard for a frown creased the lined forehead further and he received a scolding that he had better run along.

_Huh, his tune would change if he were given such an atrocity to wear and in public no less_.

Merlin knew that he did have to hurry though. Arthur had been acting strangely all week, shooting impatient, frustrated glances in Merlin's direction and becoming increasingly short tempered. It wasn't unlike the Prince's common temperament per se but of late, there had been a slightly rougher edge to his orders than was normal.

Walking along the corridor toward the Prince's chambers, he wondered in what mood he would find him. He'd caught Arthur studying him whenever he thought Merlin wasn't aware and it had begun to make him feel self-conscious. The sharp stare would flicker away as soon as the Prince spotted him looking. Merlin couldn't pinpoint the look but it seemed almost as if Arthur was desperate to say something or make some announcement.

Knocking briefly, not waiting for a response, he pushed open the door to Arthur's chambers.

"Ah, Merlin," Arthur exclaimed. "Still haven't heard of waiting for the word enter."

Merlin rolled his eyes but moved quickly over to assist Arthur to undress. "Sorry _sire_," he stressed and ducked from longstanding experience as a hand swung down to cuff his ears. He'd developed quick reactions but this time Arthur won the familiar battle and his crow of laughter had Merlin screwing up his nose in disgust and rubbing at his poor abused ear.

"So are you looking forward to tonight?" Arthur asked as he shrugged on a fresh tunic-his best-and took the boots from Merlin's outstretched hands.

"Hmm," Merlin murmured distracted by the manner with which the material hugged Arthur's strong, well-defined calves, something he had noted far too often of late. "Oh yes, I suppose." He realised his mistake immediately. Looking up he surprised a gleam in the other man's eye and prayed Arthur hadn't seen his rapt stare.

"You suppose!" Arthur exclaimed. "We defeat a fire breathing dragon, this party is to celebrate the fact, and _that's_ the entirety of your enthusiasm!"

"Erm," Merlin muttered and moved away to fiddle with objects on a perfectly neat table.

"Oh eloquent as normal," the Prince barked. "Let's get going." However, he appeared in better form despite his tone and Merlin could have sworn he even looked happy about something.

Puzzled by this and distressed by his own reactions Merlin trudged along behind as they headed to the banquet hall.

It was proving to be a long night with several toasts, claps on the back of congratulation and self-satisfied smirks exchanged. Everyone was well on the way to becoming pissed and Merlin was well on the way to blowing his top.

All evening he had been aware of Arthur flirting with the other Knights, the serving girls, practically everyone but him! Merlin feared he understood now the reality of his feelings for his master and it was proving a painful reality as he contended with envy for anyone who won a smile from the Prince. The worst of it was that his mind kept playing tricks on him, telling him that Arthur was glancing at him, every time he kissed someone, to judge his reactions.

Preposterous thinking as for what reason would Arthur want to make _him _jealous.

He could admit it now, if only to himself, he was jealous of every one of them.

Merlin wearily pictured his bed. Of late, his sleep had been fitful, dreams of dragons, fire and his father had immediately followed their return from battling Kilgharrah. Many nights he'd awoken, cheeks wet and limbs trembling. More recently, those reactions had resulted from quite different dreams and they were the reason for his desire to get away from the banquet and more significantly from Arthur.

The sound of someone clearing his or her throat noisily brought his attention back to the present.

"Hey, wake up and pour more wine!" a voice grumbled as a hand prodded his side.

Looking down Merlin saw a rather disgruntled looking Arthur with an upraised goblet. Suddenly he felt hot and his pulse was racing as he stared at those pouting, pink lips just begging to be kissed. Arthur just quirked a brow. He _had_ to get out of here before he did something daft so Merlin about turned, and fled from the room.

Not daft enough to go to his chambers, Merlin fled the castle and hastened toward his favoured solitary spot on a peaceful, grassy hill overlooking the city. He hoped it would help him calm down, even perhaps come to grips with his feelings, for right now they were buzzing around like a particularly aggravating fly. The thought of facing everyone and especially Arthur made him wish for a way to undo his behaviour. It wasn't much but the fact he'd ran off in the middle of a banquet would mean his reception was unlikely to be favourable.

He sat there for God knew how long. With the sigh of the condemned, Merlin eventually got to his feet, brushing wet grass from his rear and combing slick hands through his windswept hair. He turned and walked into an impenetrable wall.

At close quarters, it was hard to look beyond a blur of colour but then the wall spoke.

"Merlin what the blazes am I going to do with you!" he was admonished. In shock Merlin leant back to look up at Arthur. Yanked down, he found himself sitting alongside the other man on the grassy slope.

They sat in silence. Merlin felt uneasy and puzzled by the look of calm resolve on Arthur's face. "Uh, I'm sorry for running off like that. I don't know why I did," he whispered anxiously and shot sidelong glances at the Prince to gage his mood. Still calm as if nothing unseemly had occurred.

"Did you hear me, I said..."

Arthur interrupted. "Yes Merlin I heard," he murmured. He swivelled on the spot and Merlin found his body moving of its own accord to face the other man. "It's okay because I know why you ran off like a blushing maiden."

Quite forgetting his fear at not being forgiven Merlin's jaw dropped and he snapped, "I was not blushing!" he exclaimed and then wondered if he shouldn't have protested against the maiden reference too. Surely, Arthur hadn't figured out his feelings and was somehow enjoying a new way to taunt him?

Arthur was smirking -always a sign of impending doom for Merlin. The Prince brushed a finger over his lips, which had fallen open in disbelief. "You were as red as a plucked apple," he husked in apparent amusement.

_Prat_! _Moreover, why did he have to use words like plucked? He felt warm enough without those images in his head._

"It was just warm, that's all," Merlin protested. "I bet other people at the feast thought so too."

Arthur didn't look impressed by his explanation and stared into Merlin's eyes as if searching for an answer he'd only find hidden away in the other man's head. Thankfully, for him, he didn't suppose Arthur was a mind reader.

"I've wanted to talk to you all week," Arthur expressed more urgently. Unexpectedly he even looked a little nervous and Merlin wondered in agitation what was coming.

"You've been talking to me all week," he pointed out confused.

Raking a hand through his hair Arthur sighed and looked like he was biting his tongue from saying something he'd regret. That did surprise Merlin and with renewed attention, he took hold of the agitatedly moving hand and brought it down to rest between them.

"What is it sire?" he asked slowly, still not entirely sure that this wasn't some elaborate practical joke at his expense. He half-expected a group of drunken Knights to come bursting from behind the trees.

"There's no easy way of saying this, but I know you..." Arthur coughed and took a deep breath. Merlin began to get seriously worried. "…I know you're a warlock."

_Oh God_.

Merlin scrambled backward, slipping on the damp grass and gazing fearfully at the other man.

"No Merlin!" Arthur protested. "Come here, its okay I would never hurt you."

Merlin looked askance at that recalling the occasions when he had. Although he _supposed_ the Prince had become slightly less prattish in his behaviour, if you didn't count the past week.

_Oh!_ _That would explain Arthur's behaviour toward him of late._

"Uther," he stammered and watched as Arthur inched closer, cautiously reclaiming his hand.

"I _know_ you," the Prince stated emphatically. "You may be an idiot at times but you aren't a threat to Camelot."

Merlin huffed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Well it makes sense and you would be crap at being evil," Arthur declared. "You wouldn't shut up about that unicorn incident for one and obviously disapproved."

"So that proves it?" he asked in disbelief. "The fact that I didn't want you to kill the unicorn?"

"Uh huh," Arthur agreed. "You're such a girl."

He was obviously trying to make light of the situation but Merlin struggled to understand how Arthur could reconcile to the revelation so matter of factly? Especially considering the manner in which he been raised and the values instilled in him by his father.

They stared at each other until Merlin could bear it no more. "So this…it is okay?" he prodded. "You accept that I'm a warlock?"

Arthur muttered something under his breath.

"What?" Merlin asked sure he'd misheard.

"I said that it would be hard to hate the person you've discovered you care deeply for," Arthur mumbled.

_Oh. _

Merlin studied the Prince through wide eyes uncertain how to respond to _that_. "How did you guess?" he asked and worried his lower lip between his teeth and flushed as Arthur's gaze focussed distractedly on the movement. "Concentrate." he muttered but his pulse was racing.

The other man rolled his eyes. "Idiot," he muttered but surprisingly Arthur obeyed and redirected his stare to meet Merlin's own. "It was after we got back from defeating the dragon, or to be more correct after _you_ defeated the dragon."

Merlin gaped. He'd been certain that he'd not been observed.

"Oh I didn't remember it at the time," Arthur muttered. "That night I had a vivid dream of your exchange with the creature. At first I thought it was just a silly imagining but after it appeared in my dreams night after night I knew it was what had actually happened." He looked pointedly at Merlin. "Also I recalled the other times when suspicious things occurred and my new awareness put a different slant on them."

"Oh," Merlin mumbled.

"Yes, _oh_ indeed," the Prince said sounding amused. "I was annoyed at first; my ego was bruised at the likely realisation that perhaps several victories hadn't quite been resolved entirely by my skills alone. I was also rather put out that you'd being lying to me since we met," he pointed out rather grimly.

Merlin was relieved when the other man's expression gentled and he added, "I've had time to think though."

Merlin was afraid to ask, "What changed your mind?"

"I suppose I realised as I watched you all week that you were still Merlin," Arthur pondered aloud. "That being a warlock is only part of who you are and even if it takes me time to adjust then I know it is a part you will always use to protect me and my people."

He nodded at that and looked earnestly at the Prince. "It's true."

Arthur studied him searchingly and murmured softly, "I know."

Relief seared through to the bone. Merlin was sure he had never gone through such a range of emotions in such a short space of time. "You really don't hate magic?" he pressed. Unspoken was the question-_do you hate what I am?_

"Ssh," Arthur murmured and touched a finger to his lips. "For a long time I've thought my father too harsh with the magical world. Yes there are people who abuse their power but equally there are those who don't."

Merlin sighed. "Yes," he agreed. "The more they feel threatened the more they are likely to lash out."

"Which is why those magical beings who wish to live a peaceful existence in Camelot are welcome to do so when I am King," Arthur said.

Merlin stared and then decided to just go with it. He knew it could never progress as smoothly as they would hope but if they had each other...

Settling down to lean into the other man, Merlin felt a strong arm wrap around his waist. He felt protected.

"It's getting cold," Arthur announced.

Merlin snuggled in closer. "Yep," he mumbled into Arthur's throat and smirked at the low chuckle which he felt vibrate through the other man's chest.

He protested as Arthur tugged him up, but allowed, even enjoyed the feel of being enveloped in his protective warmth as Arthur kept him close.

"Come on idiot let's go home."


End file.
